THE NEW ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENCES AMONG LIFELONG LEARNING, LIFELONG EDUCATION AND LEARNING SOCIETY

SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ ZHIWEI CHEN (2601-2607)

JUNE-JULY , 2015, VOL. 2/10 www.srjis.com Page 2601

THE NEW ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENCES AMONG LIFELONG LEARNING,

LIFELONG EDUCATION AND LEARNING SOCIETY

Zhiwei Chen,

Ph.D.Scholar, Institute of Education, Goettingen University, Germany.& Visiting Scholar,

Department of Education and Extension, Savitribai Phule Pune University)

Although the functions and effectiveness of lifelong learning, lifelong education and learning

society have been paid great attention to by the society and people nowadays, there are

always confusions of them in elaboration of them in different occasion. There are lots of

differences among them and it is necessary to make these differences clear with comparing

each pair separately and comparing them generally.

Keywords: lifelong learning; lifelong education; learning society.

Nowadays, the notions of lifelong learning, lifelong education and learning society have

guided the new educational trend for the modern learning style and model. More and more

people and government have believed that the society and capability of citizens could be

largely promoted and enhanced according to the implementation and realization of lifelong

learning and lifelong education, and finally, the society will come to the form of learning

society. However, it is also important and necessary to understand there are many differences

among lifelong learning, lifelong education and learning society. In order to make much

clearer about the differences among them, it is better to compare each pair separately and

then compare them generally. The following will discuss the differences according to the

c Scholarly Research Journal's is licensed Based on a work at www.srjis.com

Abstract



concepts and meanings of them.

The differences between Lifelong learning and lifelong education

The relationship of their concepts is very close with each other. Among the present studies,

the understanding of both concepts is not consistent, which shows a wide range of usage.

According to the study and summary, there are several basic usages as follows: First, talking

about them separately, explicitly describing lifelong learning separately from lifelong

education and believing them as a pair of distinguishing concepts. Second, equivalently using

the two concepts, especially alternately using them in an article or book without a particularly

note or comment about them. Third, using them in juxtaposition, as writing and saying

lifelong education and lifelong learning together when explaining either contents of them

which shows a cautious attitude on them. Fourth, mixing the two into one as using the

expression form of word lifelong education (learning) (Chen, 2007) which however is more

ambiguous: Are the both a same concept or the former contains the latter? It can be seen that

the relationship between lifelong education and lifelong learning is indeed inextricable;

therefore the research on treating and dealing with the meaning and relationship between

them is an important prerequisite for other research work on lifelong learning. The

improvement from lifelong education to lifelong learning is accompanied with the process

reduction of governments direct management in teaching. As the educational planning

gradually evolves into the design for educational services offered by education market to

consumers (say, the students), so the education consumers (the students and learners in

schools and the educational places) also have the infinite diversity and possibilities on

education choices (Zhu, 2008). Since then, the commoditization characteristics of knowledge

began to appear slowly. As the social background, timing, conditions of the emergence of

lifelong education and lifelong learning are all different with each other, the concerns of both

are bound to have differences. In order to break away from the traditional educational system,

lifelong learning will release the initiative to individuals, who could personally choose

desired direction and make personal choices according to the needs of the community or

personal wishes, on the contrary to lifelong education which mainly embodies the behalf and

will of the country in a whole. It can be seen that lifelong learning is one of the basic human



rights which can be used to perfect humans themselves necessarily (Zhu, 2008). Lifelong

learning is a transfer process of the subjects which stresses the learner-centered instead of the

teacher-centered, but this is also a necessity in the lifelong learning environment.

Accompanied with the teachers status shifted from the subject to the direction, the principal

position and the subject effect of students and learners begin to play a roll in the teaching and

learning process, who can learn in their own lifespan as they wish to meet the different and

various learning needs in each period or stage of their own life. Meanwhile they induce

themselves into the development and exploration of their own potential and creation in this

process (Zhu & Gao, 2014), and design and pursuit individual's own value based on social

and history traditions. So we can say that the autonomy is the essential characteristics of

lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is a kind of goal-directed activity, which is composed by

intentional and planned arrangement by individuals, but not by occasional or unintentional

learning behaviors. In other words, lifelong learning includes the individual's subjective

awareness and personal decisions, planning and sense of responsibility, and the learners

personally choose what, how and where to learn. The report by Delors published in 1996 by the International Board of Education of the 21st

century of UNESCO referred to the four pillars of education, such as learn to know,

learn to do, learn to live together and learn to be a man, which lifelong learning needs

to establish and base on (Delors, 1996, pp2-5). All of these have made much higher

requirements to the individuals quality. Lifelong learning can contribute to the enhancement

and improvement of the individual quality, which will serve and benefit lifelong learning in

return.In addition, as an integral part of a comprehensive strength in a nation, the

improvement of people's qualities, such intelligence, the capability of changing and

developing with the changing society and personal needs is one of aim of education reform in

the countries. One of the important mechanisms of the formation of a humans quality is

internalization, which could be only realized with active learning by learners. Currently, the

characteristics of subjectivity and initiative contained by lifelong learning offer the basis and

premise for the formation of individuals quality.



The differences between lifelong learning and learning society

The concept of learning society, which is a much wider and larger concept than lifelong

learning, mainly bases on the formal and organizational change in a society, internally reflects

the basic idea and aims of lifelong education and lifelong learning. It means that lifelong

learning is a constituent part and component of the learning society, and a basic method of the

implementation of learning society. The lifelong learning system is conducive to the

formation of the learning society, but it is only one of the prerequisites (Zhai, 2004). After all,

the construction and improvement of the learning society is a complex process, which needs

the cooperation from various departments and institutions in the society. However, lifelong

learning is also a basic and fundamental factor for the construction of learning society. In

other words, without the endeavor and effects by lifelong learning, such as the influences

from it on peoples ideas and thoughts, the learning society could not be realized. From the

formation mechanism, the learning society means the whole and general results of lifelong

learning and lifelong education, both of which are the accomplishing means for the learning

society. It does not mean that the lifelong learning could definitely points to the results of

completion of learning society in the future, because lifelong learning could influence a

certain amount of people in the society to have the ideas and opinions to learn along with the

spirit of lifelong learning, however, it does not mean that each social member or citizen could

be influenced or affected to learn for lifelong. Moreover, there are also many other important

and necessary factors in the process of forming a learning society. In this way, we could not

equal the lifelong learning as learning society, or the direct result or consequence pointing to

learning society. Lifelong learning is only one significant factor which could form the

learning society with much more efficiency and correctness.

There are general divergences and differences among them.

Different targets: These three ideas have some differences in their specific target as the goal

of lifelong education tends to realize the exceeding of the current education system. Paul

Lengrand criticized the traditional education system in the first line is its inflexible and

one-off feature. He believed that thinking of the knowledge, skills and capabilities required in

the whole life could only be obtained in the youth era was already out of date, and ought to be



thoroughly crushed and discarded (Yu, 2011). In the future, the society should build a

education system with significant features such as continuous, comprehensive, organic and

open, which fully consider the development needs of society and individuals, instead of

simple overlaying of school years or relatively fragmented education systems. Lifelong

learning tends to go beyond the traditional areas of education. It means the learning activities

are not only themes which belong to the areas of education, but also a part of the survival

matter areas, a theme which relates to the responsibility and way of life and survival. In other

words, lifelong learning aims at the establishment of a society in the future with the feature as

learning is to survive, learning is life, and there is not any social boundary between learning

and survival, learning and life (Fang, 2014). The purpose of learning society even more

exceeds a normal social form, and guarantees each ones right of learning and participation in

learning activities, instead of the monopoly of learning right by the minority and small groups

involved in learning activities (Yu, 2011). It will finally show in front of us as the individuals

as lifelong learning individuals, the groups are lifelong learning groups and the society is a

lifelong learning society. Different choice on strategies: Different targets sets with different

strategic choices. In order to achieve the goal of going beyond the traditional education

system, the lifelong education inevitably emphasizes on the integration of various resources

in the country's education system which stands on view points of the society, to realize the

possibilities of participations in various educational activities for every citizen in life-long

span, so the most important strategy is to establish lifelong education system which is open to

all citizens. In order to leave far beyond the traditional areas of education, lifelong learning

inevitably more emphasizes on the attitude and ability on learning in the whole life, as well as

the importance of everyones involving in the learning activities, which stands on the view

point of the individuals (or basic social organizations) (Zhu, 2008). That is to say, the first

choice of lifelong learning strategies is to guide every citizen to regard lifelong learning as

survival responsibility and way of life, to enhance their learning consciousness and abilities.

As to the social responsibility, it should help with the formation of a continuous supporting

process which brings human potential into play fully, with the premise of guarantee of

learners autonomy and voluntary. In order to exceed the existing social forms, the core



strategy of learning society is to reasonably clear learning obstacles, provide fair educational

opportunities, and turn the society into a society with learning form. Thus, in specific

strategic concepts, it is bound to take the same strategic choices as the lifelong education and

lifelong learning (Wu, 2007, pp12-13), which are the introduction of advanced and open

lifelong education system and advocacy conscious and effective learning by individuals and

groups. Different focus in practice: Different purposes and different strategies will naturally

lead to the different positioning of the focus in practice. Lifelong education focuses more on

the reform of the traditional education system, including its resources, system, structure,

distribution, communication, form, objects, content and methods. Lifelong learning focuses

more on the confirmation of the subjects in learning activities, the respect of learners

learning will, the need of learners, learning attitude, continuation of learning, confidence in

learning, improvement of learning abilities, utilization of learning resources , expanding of

learning place. In addition to the two aspects above, learning society in particular looks

forward to putting the following activities into practice, such as the implementation of the

learners rights on learning, establishment of the learner-centered concept, construction of a

diverse and open learning network, mobilization of the participation of social organizations,

promoting individual to become learning-person, family the learning-family, social

organizations the learning organizations, communities the learning communities, cities the

learning cities, and the government a learning-oriented government. Generally speaking, it

shows above that the three concepts are very consistent on issues such as the time limit,

content, space and purpose of the teaching and learning, but are different on specific targets,

strategic choices and practical focus: lifelong education is a top-down process whose strategic

choice starts from social aspects, lifelong learning is a bottom-up process whose strategic

choice starts from the personal view point, and strategic choice of learning society is the

assemble process of both above. When the lifelong education is established without the

guidance of lifelong education system, then it is impossible that everyone can be involved in

learning, and thereupon no institutional guarantee for the learning society; when there is no

prerequisites as everyone is involved in lifelong learning and the social foundations, lifelong

education will be nothing but only a dream, and learning society is only a mirage (Yang,



Zhang, Feng & Niu, 2012). Only with background of the mutual cooperation and

simultaneous development of the society and individuals, the lifelong education and lifelong

learning are possible to come to a reality, and the ideal of a learning society could to be

possible achieved.

Reference

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Delors, Jacques. et al. (1996). Learning: The Treasure Within, Report to UNESCO of the

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Fang, Zichun (2014). Construction of regional lifelong learning system - Case study in

Tianjin. Continuing Education, 2014(9): 23-27.

Wu, Zunmin (2007). Modern international lifelong education. Beijing: China Peoples

University Press.

Yu, Shaohua (2011). The construction of a learning society and lifelong learning systems.

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Yang, Jincai; Zhang, Xing; Feng, Jia; Niu, Ana (2012). Construction of the international

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THE NEW ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENCES AMONG LIFELONG LEARNING, LIFELONG EDUCATION AND LEARNING SOCIETY